If you’ve been around the internet you may have a certain image or video of three characters strutting with a rather stylish walk across the screen, particularly the middle character, proudly swinging his biceps back and forth: Dr. Livesey.
But who is this Giga chad of a doctor and why has he suddenly blown up across the web in cartoon form? That’s what we’re here to talk about.
Who is Dr. Livesey?
Dr. David Livesely is one of the main characters of the 1881 Robert Louis Stevenson novel Treasure Island. The good doctor is first seen acting as the physician for the main character Jim Hawkin’s father. Shortly after he also treats the former pirate Billy Bones after he has a stroke. He tells Billy that the stroke was caused by his constant drinking of rum and that if he continues to drink, he is certain to die hence “rum and death should mean the same thing to you.”
After Billy does die, Jim discovers the treasure map he was hiding. Livesey then accompanies Jim to find a ship and recover the hidden treasure hoard of Captain J. Flint.
Treasure Island has seen several adaptations throughout the years including The Muppet’s Treasure Island and Disney’s Treasure Planet but this particularly Livesey comes from the 1988 USSR animated adaptation directed by David Cherkassky. The entire film is actually available to watch on youtube with English subtitles:
The walk comes about early in the film when Livesey, Jim, and Squire Trelawney enter a pub in search of a ship and crew, leading them to meet Long John Silver, but not before the film partakes in a live-action soviet pirate workout session (the film is honestly pretty wild).
The Spread of Livesey
Memes about Dr. Livesey have been circulating on Russian-speaking corners of the internet since back in 2018 however the good doctor only started going viral globally with the posting of a TikTok video by weirdyunus. This short clip set the walk cycle to the phonk song “Why Not” by Ghostface Playa.
@weirdyunus I adore him #doctorlivesey #livesey #rom #treasureisland #fyp #edit #xycba
The video soon spread to Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and other social media platforms. Probably the easiest way to view the original is with the [4K] Dr. Livesey Phonk Walk (Full Version) uploaded to Youtube by the user Maxises which makes the animation sharper and extends the runtime to 10 minutes.
Parody Versions
It’s easy to see why the clip became so popular. The overly manly walk sandwiched between less manly but still very exaggerated walks of the other two characters set to that catchy phonk beat makes for a visual that can get stuck in your head for hours.
As you can imagine several artists made parody versions of the clip with different sets of characters from other cartoons, anime, and video games.
The fact that a catchy song and edit could take an obscure USSR animated movie and make it relevant in the 2020s truly shows the power of the internet and meme creation. Makes you wonder what will come next.
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